WATER POLLUTION EMERGENCY

Jacksonville Ordinance Code tit. X, ch. 362, pt. 2

in effect

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.201 Legislative findings and intent.

Sec. 362.201. - Legislative findings and intent. The Council finds and declares that there may be occasions when the potable-water sources of a part of the City are found to be polluted and that there is no ready source of potable water for the people affected by this pollution. In these cases, a water pollution emergency will exist and measures will have to be taken to insure, as quickly as possible, that potable water is available to the people affected by the emergency. It is the intent of the Council in enacting this Part 2 to provide for the exercise by the Mayor of certain emergency powers in the event of a water pollution emergency affecting the potable-water sources of any part of the City. These powers are to be exercised in the public interest and for the protection of the public health, welfare and safety. The statement of intent in Section 360.101 is applicable to this Part 2. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.202 Water pollution emergency conditions.

Sec. 362.202. - Water pollution emergency conditions. A water pollution emergency will exist in any area or part of the City when, as to the area concerned, the quality of the potable water has deteriorated, due to the presence of pollution, to such an extent that the public health is threatened or endangered. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.203 Declaration of water pollution emergency.

Sec. 362.203. - Declaration of water pollution emergency. Upon recommendation of the Board or upon recommendation of the Director, the Mayor may declare that a water pollution emergency exists within any part of the City. This declaration shall be immediately published once in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the City, or via such other advertisement or notice method as permitted by law (e.g., a publicly accessible website), and shall be publicized by all available media of communication to the general public. Upon the signing of the water pollution emergency declaration by the Mayor, the special powers herein granted shall become available to the Mayor and he shall have plenary authority to execute these powers. The Mayor may delegate the daily execution of these powers to an executive officer, but he: (a) Shall be immediately responsible for the proper exercise of this delegated authority. (b) May withdraw this delegation of authority and redelegate it to another executive officer, as often as he thinks proper. (c) May delegate execution of these powers to more than one executive officer at a time, jointly or severally, consecutively or successively. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1; Ord. 2023-187-E, § 9)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.204 Mayor to publish and give notice.

Sec. 362.204. - Mayor to publish and give notice. After the publication of the water pollution emergency declaration, the Mayor shall publish notice thereof once each day during the first seven days of the emergency and once each week thereafter until the emergency is declared completely at an end. Publication of this notice shall serve as official notice of all persons in the area within which the water pollution emergency has been declared. The notice shall contain the following information: (a) A statement that the Mayor has declared a water pollution emergency to exist within part of the City. (b) A brief description of the area covered by the declaration. (c) If the Mayor has released any part of the City that was previously included within his declaration or has included any part of the City that was not previously included within his declaration, which release or inclusion has been declared since the previous publication of this notice, a statement that part of the City has been so released or included and a brief description of the area released or included. (d) A brief statement of the conditions that caused or precipitated the water pollution emergency, as known to him at the time of publication of the notice. (e) Such other information as the Mayor considers necessary and appropriate to inform the general public and the persons subject to the water pollution emergency declaration of the general status of the water pollution emergency. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.205 Provisions and restrictions.

Sec. 362.205. - Provisions and restrictions. During a water pollution emergency, the Mayor or the authorized executive officer or officers under Section 362.206 may enter one or more orders adopting or imposing any one or more, or all, of the following provisions and restrictions: (a) Provisions that allow persons in an area covered by the declaration to make agreements among themselves, with the concurrence of the Mayor or his delegate, for the mutual sharing or rotation of the use of water within the area. (b) Provisions for the distribution of water or the temporary or permanent installation of potable-water distribution facilities. (c) Provisions for the metering and reporting of water used, the source of that water and the quality of the water. (d) Provisions for protection against further deterioration of the water quality, including the closing of wells and the abatement of pollution sources. (e) Restrictions on the total amount of water that may be used or withdrawn during a fixed period of time. (f) Restrictions on the timing of the use or withdrawal of water, whether from wells in the area or from water distributed or transmitted into the area. (g) Other provisions or restrictions as are necessary to protect the potable water resources of the City from serious or irreparable harm during the continuation of the water pollution emergency and to restore the water resources to an acceptable quality for use as potable water, if possible, such as limiting or banning the construction of new wells within the area of the declaration. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.206 Modification, cancellation, rescission and extension of orders.

Sec. 362.206. - Modification, cancellation, rescission and extension of orders. An order entered pursuant to Section 362.205 may be modified, cancelled or rescinded by the issuing authority at any time with respect to any one or more of the provisions or restrictions contained therein. The issuing authority may extend an order already entered to impose or adopt additional provisions or restrictions. This Section shall be given the broadest possible construction to give the Mayor or his delegate the widest possible latitude in entering, modifying, cancelling, rescinding and extending orders, so as to allow for rapidly changing conditions within the water pollution emergency area. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.207 Pollution source subject to Mayor's authority.

Sec. 362.207. - Pollution source subject to Mayor's authority. If the source which is polluting the water within the water pollution emergency area can be identified, initially or at any time during the existence of the water pollution emergency, the Mayor may amend his declaration to state the source and the special powers granted herein shall apply to that source in order that it may be abated or ended as soon as possible. The Mayor may, from time to time, include or exclude sources of water pollution as appears from the conditions within the water pollution emergency area. It is not necessary that the pollution source be within the water pollution emergency area established by the declaration, so long as the Mayor identifies the source and states that it is related to the water pollution which is the subject of the declaration. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.208 Emergency use of funds and public property; provision of potable water to water pollution emergency area.

Sec. 362.208. - Emergency use of funds and public property; provision of potable water to water pollution emergency area. (a) The Mayor is authorized, as soon as the declaration is issued, to use funds not otherwise appropriated, as well as appropriated funds, to begin the emergency procedures herein authorized. Funds not otherwise appropriated may be used up to a maximum amount of $50,000 and, to the extent that they are so used, they are hereby appropriated for the purposes of the water pollution emergency. Expenditures of funds not otherwise appropriated shall be reported to the Council Auditor as soon as they are approved for expenditure. The Mayor may direct or authorize the use of necessary public property for the duration of the emergency. (b) The Mayor may make arrangements for the immediate provision of potable water to the water pollution emergency area, using any one or a combination of the following: (1) The purchase and distribution of bulk potable water supplies. (2) The purchase and distribution of bottled water. (3) The installation and operation of temporary water production and transmission facilities. (4) The extension of the City's water transmission lines to the water pollution emergency area, whether or not this extension is in accordance with the Master Plan for Water and Sewer Utility Development under Chapter 750. (5) The digging of wells in unpolluted portions of the water pollution emergency area or to unpolluted aquifers, as determined by the Department, whether on public or private property, and the treatment and distribution of water from these wells or the deepening of existing wells to tap other sources of water which are not polluted. (6) The plugging or repair of wells that may be contributing to the pollution. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.209 Modification, extension and cancellation of declaration.

Sec. 362.209. - Modification, extension and cancellation of declaration. The Mayor may, at any time during a water pollution emergency modify his declaration to exclude any area of the City previously covered by the declaration but as to which a water pollution emergency no longer exists; or extend his declaration to cover and include any area of the City not previously covered by the declaration but as to which area a water pollution emergency presently exists. The Mayor may cancel his declaration that a water pollution emergency exists within the City, or such part hereof as may then be covered by the declaration; in such event, the cancellation shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City, or via such other advertisement or notice method as permitted by law (e.g., a publicly accessible website), and publicized by all available media of communication to the general public. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1; Ord. 2023-187-E, § 9)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.210 Continuation of Mayor's special powers.

Sec. 362.210. - Continuation of Mayor's special powers. Whenever the Mayor modifies his declaration to exclude therefrom an area of the City previously covered thereby or cancels his declaration, the special powers vested in him and in his delegate by this Part shall continue after the date of modification or cancellation for a reasonable period of time so that the Mayor may make all necessary adjustments to return the persons in the area previously covered by the declaration to a normal condition of use and to remove or dispose of public property used in the water pollution emergency; but for no other purpose. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.211 Penalties.

Sec. 362.211. - Penalties. A person who fails or refuses to obey an order issued by the Mayor or his delegate pursuant to this Part or who fails or refuses to abide by a provision or restriction adopted or imposed by the Mayor or his delegate and applicable generally or particularly to him shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $10,000 or by not more than one year in jail or by both for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed on each day that a person shall so fail or refuse. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.212 Other relief.

Sec. 362.212. - Other relief. Notwithstanding the penalties imposed by Section 362.211 the Mayor, through the Office of General Counsel, may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief in the County or Circuit Court to enforce the provisions of this Part or an order entered in accordance with this Part. The provisions of Part 1 are also available and they are declared to be cumulative of and supplementary to the powers and authority granted in this Part. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.213 Recovery of costs and expenses.

Sec. 362.213. - Recovery of costs and expenses. The Mayor is authorized to recover the costs and expenses of the City in meeting a water pollution emergency from the person or persons who caused the pollution or were responsible for the conditions leading or contributing to the pollution. For this purpose, the Mayor, through the Office of General Counsel, may institute or join in necessary judicial actions or administrative proceedings and he or his delegate is authorized to negotiate with the responsible person or persons to obtain a just and equitable settlement in the public interest. The Mayor is also authorized to request assistance from State and federal agencies in meeting the emergency and in recovering the costs and expenses thereof, whether by financial assistance, by provision of nonfinancial assistance or by the use of enforcement powers available to the State or the United States. Unless otherwise provided by judicial order, administrative decision or contractual arrangement, funds recovered under this Section shall first be used to reimburse the appropriations from which emergency funds were expended under Section 362.208 and then shall be subject to appropriation by the Council. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 362.214 Water meter tap-in fees authorized to be paid in installments; limitation of authority; method of collecting delinquent installment payments.

Sec. 362.214. - Water meter tap-in fees authorized to be paid in installments; limitation of authority; method of collecting delinquent installment payments. (a) Whenever the Mayor has authorized an extension of the City's water transmission lines to the water pollution emergency area pursuant to Section 362.208(b)(4) and a person whose lot is within (1) the polluted area or (2) a known area of contamination within the water pollution emergency area, in either case as certified by the Director, is connected to the line, the Mayor may authorize the water meter tap fee imposed by Section 750.408 to be paid in not more than 12 monthly installments, as equally as may be. The Mayor or his delegate, in conjunction with the Manager of Water Services and the City Accountant, shall prescribe the procedure to be followed in applying for installment payments and the procedure for approving and billing for installment payments. The authority to permit installment payments shall be available only during the continuance of the water pollution emergency and for a reasonable time thereafter, as specified by the Mayor, in order to allow those eligible persons who desire to be connected to the City's water transmission line to make application for installment payments. (b) Installment payments, regardless of whether they are billed on the regular water service billing or on a special billing, shall be considered to be bills for water service rendered under the Rules and Regulations of the JEA and the Water and Sewer Expansion Authority. At the same time that a bill becomes delinquent, it shall be deemed to be a delinquent bill under Part 1, Chapter 112 and may be collected by the City under the provisions of that part. If a bill for an installment payment becomes delinquent, the total amount of the water meter tap fee authorized to be paid in installments, excepting only that portion already paid, shall become immediately due and payable and shall be collected as a single delinquent bill. (Ord. 85-277-165, § 1; Ord. 2003-586-E, § 1)

Source: City of Jacksonville, Ordinance Code and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITXENAF_CH362AIWAPO_PT2WAPOEMFetched: 10/27/2026